For its first meeting of the new year – Jan. 9 – staff will present Punta Gorda City Council with meeting options regarding the city’s current lease with the Military Heritage Museum. The lease ends June 30.
City Council and various boards and committees have been meeting in the museum’s Gulf Theater, 900 W. Marion Ave., since Hurricane Ian damaged City Hall, located in the downtown Historic District.
In a memo from the Procurement Department, staff writes that the Military Heritage Museum “is interested in continuing to facilitate a meeting space via a one-year extension to the agreement, with a monthly rate of $4,620, which is an increase of 10 percent from the previous two years.”
It further reads that when the original contract was let, City Council meetings lasted an average of four hours but occasionally went over that time.
“The museum has indicated that their agreements include a stipulation that if the rental period is extended, it will be at a cost of $100 per hour.”
The memo indicates that ADA compliance is not always met at the museum since its elevator is prone to flooding.
The elevator in the lower parking level of the garage brings visitors up to the museum and the Gulf Theater on the second floor. But the elevator was inoperable for a period of time following hurricanes Helene and Milton, which flooded the downtown area, including the museum’s parking garage and elevator, in September and October.
At least one resident was unable to attend a meeting due to the elevator being out of service.
A meeting place for city business must be within city limits, compliant with Americans With Disabilities Act standards, have adequate space for attendees, audiovisual resources, and space to house city technology, and able to hold both board and City Council meetings, according to the city.
Other options that will be presented include Burnt Store Presbyterian Church and the Supervisor of Elections offices. However, the SOE elevator also is prone to flooding, and a contract agreement would have to be approved by the Board of Charlotte County Commissioners.
Rendering of proposed new City Hall building
Sticker shock
Punta Gorda City Council, which has three members elected in November, got sticker shock Dec. 4 when it learned that a new City Hall building, with a design chosen by former council members, would cost close to $16 million.
At that council meeting, Julian Norman-Webb P.A., representing the architecture and engineering firm Goodwyn Mills Cawood, presided over a slide presentation showing three options, of which the third and most costly came in at an estimated $15,775,674.
“How the heck did we get to nearly $16 million?” Mayor Debi Lux, who is serving her second year, asked on Dec. 4.
Council member Melissa Lockhart, who was elected in 2021, also expressed surprise. She said that several years ago, “prices were $3 million, $4 million.”
Newly elected council member Greg Julian said he “ran on the fact we don’t need a Taj Mahal,” and said the council has had no problem meeting at the Military Heritage Museum for the last two years.
Water intrusion, failing electrical and plumbing, and the possibility of mold and peeling plaster were some of the issues that caused the closure of the City Hall complex.
The proposed new $16 million City Hall building was one of the ongoing projects included in Punta Gorda City Council’s annual fiscal year report filed with the state at the end of March.
The Development Review Committee completed its study of a then-proposed $15,887,210 historic City Hall expansion that would replace the 1978 addition to the original 1926 building. GMC Architects and its sub-consultants submitted the DRC application and building permit in December.
At past council meetings, residents decried the notion of spending nearly $16 million for the new building, saying the city should instead make repairs and save taxpayer dollars.
The Jan. 9 City Council meeting begins at 9 a.m. The agenda can be viewed here.
